MU Story
by PoTaToWoRkS
Summary: For the gamers of GMO
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The young elf appeared out of nowhere, with nothing on except a pair of old worn boots and two thin pieces of linen wrapped around her hips and breasts. The travellers passing by stared at her as she walked past, as if she didn't belong in a land such as Noria. She shrugged them off almost instantly and sat down on a toadstool. It was not the most comfortable of seating, but she managed to position herself nicely upon the soft surface. With one quick glance over her shoulder, she opened her inventory and peered inside. A small glint of red caught her eye and without hesitation, she shoved her hand inside the bag and pulled it out. It was a ring. She examined it closely and made out a small inscription around the rim. _Ring of Warrior._ Before she could inspect it further, the sky above gave way to a strange shadow that seemed to linger over the safe zone. She looked up and saw to her amazement, a horde of dangerous - yet strangely compelling - gold dragons flying overhead. Never in her life had she seen anything so spectacular ... so miraculous ... so –

"GOLD INVASION!"

The young elf snapped out of her trance and directed her attention to the crowd gathered around an elf which seemed to radiate light from her very body. There was no doubt that this elf was very beautiful, but there was an air about her which gave the young elf the impression that she was also very powerful. Without realising what she was doing, she approached the crowd, eager to see the elf up close and to see the commotion that this 'gold invasion' had created.

She slowly eased her way in through the crowd and came face to face with a handsome young man, whose hair seemed so grey for one his age. He smiled back in response to the shock which spread across her face like lightning.

"I'm so sorry," the elf said softly to the man, "I didn't -""That's OK my dear," he replied swiftly, "It always gets like this when the gold invasion starts."She hesitated to reply at first, but curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "What do you mean?"

He cocked his head to one side and looked at her oddly. This made her feel very uncomfortable and so she shuffled her feet in haste, not knowing how to react. The young man seemed to understand she knew nothing about the event and began to laugh.

"You must be new," he said through his laughter, "The golden invasion is where monsters made of gold suddenly materialize onto the many lands of MU. We then hunt them down and destroy them – please don't look so shocked elf, you'll get used to it in time. These monsters carry with them a special box which may hold a valuable treasure, and no MUitizen would pass up any opportunity to kill one."

With his explanation, she fell silent. How could she respond to such information? It was very disturbing to hear that the magnificent creatures which flew above her were destined to be a warrior's trophy. It was here that she decided that she would never hunt them down, no matter how tempting it may seem to her in the future. By now, the crowd had begun to thin out, in search of the elusive golden monsters that had now invaded the continent of MU. The elf was now in full view, and more beautiful than ever.

"I wish she could buff me still," the young man suddenly said. "Buff?" the young elf replied, confused by his remark. "She is the Elf Soldier. Her buffs can increase your attack and defence tenfold," he explained, "But she only gives her buff to those who need it, like yourself.""But ... why would I need it?""She only buffs those whose level of expertise fall under one hundred and eighty.""How does she know?""Oh ... she knows."

She looked up at the young man and smiled.

"Does she know what level you are Mr...""Just call me Ratemenz," he cut in, "And yes, she knows that I no longer need her services.""Why?""I'm level three hundred and eighty six my dear."

She gulped loudly. This man was so young, yet his experience was way beyond hers! He didn't look like a warrior, for his armour was nothing special. From his head down to his toes, he wore a light material which she couldn't identify, but she saw the colours of the rainbow shine from his helmet. The young man stared at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"Do you not like my pad set?" he asked curiously.

She stopped breathing. _So that is what the material is... _

"It's nice..." she began, "But it doesn't look strong."

He laughed once again, but this time it was much louder. It was so loud that she even considered covering her ears but restrained herself from doing so, for she was afraid she might offend the man.

"Oh, it's strong my dear, it's excellent," he said confidently, flexing his arms, "This set can bypass any monsters' attack and reduce the damage they inflict on me.""Oh? Is that possible?""Yes my dear. It is very possible."

He smiled at her and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. She didn't understand how such a set could do anything that the young man had said. It didn't worry her though. Her mind was elsewhere. The beautiful elf was now just a few steps from her, floating in mid air with a tranquil expression upon her face. The young elf reached out to touch her when suddenly, she began to speak...

"I'll be your strength for the journey to become a warrior."

Her voice was filled with such softness, that it was hard to believe she was real. Without warning, a strange sensation rushed through her body. She looked down to see a wisp of green slowly coil around her body, along with an instant glow that seemed to stain her skin. All she could do at that moment was look around in helplessness, for she had no idea what had happened to her.

"How do you like it?"

The young elf turned around to see Ratemenz looking down at her, with a lopsided grin on his face.

"What has she done me Ratemenz?" she asked desperately.

"Nothing my dear, she just gave you a helping hand," he whispered.

"You mean to say that she has given me a buff?"

"Exactly."

A wave of relief swept through her. For a moment, she had thought the Elf Soldier had paralysed her.

"Ratemenz, your level is very high, but you do not look experienced. Can you not fool her into buffing you?" she asked quietly.

He stopped to think for a split second, and answered, "Not all Soul Masters need high defence my dear. You will come across many others that have chosen the same profession as I have, and you will see that their sets differ to how they gain experience," he paused, "And as for the Elf Soldier ... it will not matter to her how you look, for she sees more than just a low level set."

"What is a Soul Master?"

"I am a Soul Master," he said proudly, "My strength does not lie within a sword, but within magic. With my speed and versatility, I am able to conjure high damage poison spells and create magical barriers of defence for others who ask for my aid."

"That's not possible, it's-"

"It is very possible my dear," he interrupted, "One day we shall meet again and I will show you what I mean."

He bowed to the young elf and evaporated into thin air. She blinked a few times, trying to absorb his sudden departure and then walked over to a lovely lady playing a harp. Her song was a pretty little tune that seemed to bring an ambiance of happiness to Noria. She returned to her toadstool seat and watched as a MUitizen bought necessities from the harp lady's shop.

"What are you staring at?" spat the MUitizen.

He looked down on the elf and narrowed his eyes, as if to scare her. He succeeded, for she stood frozen on the spot, unable to speak. His long silvery hair swept over his shoulders in the warm breeze while the mask worn upon face kept his hairline in place. He looked very strong; his armour resembled cerulean blue and glistened in the sunlight with every breath he took. The weapon across his back was a type of staff or sceptre, and he looked very much like a Soul Master. Perhaps that was what Ratemenz meant by different types of Soul Masters – this man had to be a powerful magic caster, she was sure of it. Now all she had to do was summon the nerve to reply back.

"Who m-me?" her voice trembled, "I-I wasn't looking at a-anything sir."

"Sir... pfft!" he scorned distastefully, "I am a Lord to you, you noob."

"A Lord?" she managed to say.

"A Dark Lord you stupid elf. Or do you not remember that we rule the continent of MU?"

"I only just got here..."

The man let out a thoughtful sigh and his stature of defence deflated slightly.

"I am Lord Shahenshah. I am an emperor in my own right, and whatever I say, goes," he said majestically "And what is your name elf?"

"Oh, my name is-"

She trailed off. _What is my name?_ She stared at him blankly, for she could not answer. The man began to grow impatient, and suddenly he extended his hand to her.

"Let's trade if you do not wish to tell me," he said curtly.

"I'm sorry, I do not know my name-"

"Just take my hand!"

Without hesitation, she obeyed. Her inventory opened automatically, along with her estimated level ... and her name! The young elf smiled as she read it out loud.

"Amaryll," she said proudly.

"You're a slow learner elf," Lord Shahenshah said rudely, "Don't make me wait for your answer again."

He closed the trade and her inventory returned to its previous state of lifelessness. Amaryll couldn't understand why this self professed 'Emperor' was so mean to her. All she had done was accidentally look his way, and as a consequence she was scared out of her wits and interrogated by a complete stranger. She pulled herself up to his height and kept her composure, although she wanted to slap him in the face.

"I won't _Emperor_," she said slowly, "But I'm not a slow learner."

Shahenshah pondered on her words and coolly replied, "I'm going to think you are until you prove me wrong. Now, you are wasting my time. I have more important things to do than talk to a noob like you."

"I'm not a noob!" Amaryll screamed.

_At least, I don't think I am... what is a noob anyway?_

Shahenshah turned his back on her and walked away with his cape flapping behind him. She couldn't believe how rude he was! Pushing undesirable thoughts about him out of her mind, Amaryll stared at her feet and put her hands on her hips. The breeze felt cold against her arms and legs and she began to shiver.

"Amaryll."

She looked up sharply and saw Shahenshah staring down on her once again.

"Yes _Lord_?" she replied, not really caring what he wanted with her.

"Trade with me."

She took his hand once again, and up popped her inventory. The Dark Lord presented her with an orb of deepest blue; something which seemed completely out of his character.

"Take it," he urged.

Afraid of angering the Dark Lord and suffering another insult, she reluctantly accepted and placed it in her inventory.

"Thankyou..." she murmured under her breath.

"I want you to be an Energy Elf," he continued, ignoring her completely, "When you are above level three hundred, I want you to mail me."

"What's an Energy Elf?"

"An Energy Elf will focus her experience on energy only, and aid all the other characters which she will hunt with. She will have grace and gentility, and conjure a strong buff which will benefit everyone."

"Like the elf soldier?" Amaryll asked.

"Pfft, you will not be like her!" he replied, offended by the comparison, "She only helps the weak. But you Amaryll will assist the strong, for that is the purpose you serve as an Energy Elf."

"And what if I don't want to be an Energy Elf?"

Shahenshah leant into her and whispered in a deadly tone, "You _will _be an Energy Elf Amaryll. Understood?"

Amaryll pulled away from him and tried to find reason in his eyes. At first, she thought he was joking, but she could see there was no wavering in his expression. Of all things, she never thought that anyone would tell her what to do, especially this conceited Dark Lord standing before her. He talked of the elf soldier to be anything but wondrous, which she couldn't understand.

"But why? Why an Energy Elf?" Amaryll asked, "Why do you care what I become?"

Shahenshah turned his head away for a moment, as if to contemplate on telling her a thought he was keeping to himself.

"I won't be questioned."

Amaryll glared at him, not at all impressed with his answer. The Dark Lord rivalled her stare not only with his eyes, but with his stance. His fists were clenched tightly and his chin was slightly raised, showing his pursed lips. They stood there in silence, with the harp melody the only sound between them. It was only until the sound of a horn echoing in the distance did Shahenshah break the intensity between the two of them.

"I must go. I must defend the land of Noria now," Shahenshah said at once.

He walked in the direction of the Elf Soldier and mounted a magnificent russet horse at the exit of the safe zone. Shahenshah rode off into the distance, with his armoured horse pounding his hooves into the ground. Amaryll did not know that the Dark Lord owned any type of creature, and was very surprised to see that the horse even let him on its back. Maybe Shahenshah had a way with animals, which was a side that the elf could never have imagined him to possess. But that couldn't be right. He didn't seem to be the type of man to show compassion, especially to beings which he thought to be below him. No. He must be using some type of mind trick to control the poor creature, for no creature would willingly be the companion of _that _Dark Lord.

As she was dreaming about rescuing the horse from its terrible master, a group of people appeared in front of the Elf Soldier. They all looked at each other and headed out of Noria, in the direction of the Dark Lord. Curious as to where they were going, Amaryll followed them, leaving the safety of the safe zone to enter the wilderness of the land known as Noria.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

With the very first step out of the safe zone, Amaryll instinctively grabbed the bow and arrow from behind her back, which she didn't even realise she had in the first place. Her hand shook as she clutched them with her fingers. She had never been taught to use such a weapon, yet she was able to hold one as if it was second nature to her. _How can this be? _Amaryll lowered her bow and examined the vast land before her. There was only one word that crossed her mind at that very moment. _Breathtaking. _From the little cobblestone path to the various colours the flowers brought to the grassy plain, up to the very trees which fringed the outer skirts of the land, Noria was indeed a beautiful place. The flowers danced in the breeze as Amaryll walked by and the butterflies fluttered here and there, as if they were playing a game which only they could understand. Even though the elf was beside herself to see such scenery, the fact that she could handle a bow and arrow was still on her mind. Not that she minded, of course, but it was strange that she couldn't remember a time of ever using a weapon, especially when she had an excellent memory. Perhaps she had a previous life, where she was a hunter of great skill and virtue or maybe, just maybe she had been brainwashed prior to arriving in Noria. Amaryll sighed. She didn't believe any of those reasons, even though she really wanted to. Then, another thought struck her. What if _someone else_ could answer her question? Her heart pounded hard against her chest. Yes! She needed to find someone who could answer her question. This 'someone' had to be of great wisdom and knowledge, as well as accustomed to characters like herself asking questions which may seem dim-witted to ask, but did not show in the way he or she responded. But who?

Amaryll continued along the path, until it faded into the ground below. This saddened her, for she had no idea where the group of warriors were, nor did she know where she was herself. She tilted her head from side to side, trying to find some clue as to which direction they had taken. Then she saw it. A glimmer of colour amongst the long blades of grass gave her a newfound hope. She raced over and bent down eagerly to see what she had discovered. It was... gold. Gold pieces were scattered across the ground, with tiny letters etched onto every single piece. Amaryll picked them all up and turned a few over, trying to figure out what their use was on the continent of MU. She held one up to her eye level and squinted in the sunlight to read the engraving. Zen_. What is Zen?_ Amaryll juggled the gold pieces in her hand for a few moments and then placed them at the bottom of her bag. She couldn't be bothered asking herself another question which she knew she couldn't answer. The gold hadn't provided her with any indication that the group of warriors were nearby and she was beginning to feel frustrated. She had strayed so far from the path that all she could see was endless greenery around her. Lost and irritated, Amaryll headed east, hoping to cross the path which she had left behind.

To her dismay, instead of finding the path she longed for, she found a large patch of marshy ground which was riddled with unnaturally deep blue water and damp soil. Feeling cautious of what may lie beneath the surface and dirtying her attire, she decided to go around the strange coloured puddles. As carefully as she could, Amaryll slipped through the many reed beds which surrounded the swamp and managed to avoid the water and the soggy earth in which it lay. By the time she had overcome the marshland, her boots were perfectly dry and her clothes remained intact. She was about to head north, when she heard the sound of sword slash only a short way from her. Amaryll ran south, until she came across a horrendous pack of black monsters which shook her to the bone. They were much bigger than herself, with mighty swords, shields, bows and thick armour which appeared impenetrable. In the midst of the mob, the three warriors she sought to find were in callous warfare with the creatures, splitting them from limb to limb with their powerful weapons. One of them spotted Amaryll looking on in fright and nudged his friend in the ribs. The second man turned his attention from the current monster he was attacking and put on his best smile.

"Like it gorgeous?" he called out to the stunned elf.

The third man whirled around and glared at his companions. He then looked over to Amaryll and cursed under his breath.

"Get out of here elf!" he cried, "It's too dangerous for you here!"

Upon hearing the man's words, a monster tore away from the pack and charged straight at Amaryll. She stood there, paralysed, not knowing what to do. Her brain was telling her to run away as fast as she could, but her body wasn't responding. The creature raised its sword high above its head, as if to decapitate her with one blow, when suddenly the first warrior sliced him in two, right in front of her eyes. She screamed hard when it hit the floor; for she had never seen an animal face such cruelty.

"Lechedemy is right," the swordsman told the elf as he wiped his blade clean, "This is no place for you. Return to Noria, or I will kill you."

"Dude, there's no need to threaten her!" second man yelled as he threw a chain wrapped with fire around another monster, "She can stay if she wants. It's a free world, right babe?"

"Uh-" Amaryll started to say.

"Rastamann!" the first man snapped, "Stop talking! You speak of things which you do not know of yourself."

In the corner of her eye, she saw the warrior named Lechedemy roll his eyes at his friends and continue to slaughter the remaining monsters. His movements were so swift and agile as he wielded his sword into one creature after another. The wings he wore upon his back looked almost dragon-like, with a daring design of orangy-yellow spread across the front and back of the wingspan, resembling the pattern of a raging fire. His helmet was made out of what looked like to be a dragon's head, which kept his face hidden from all to see. All of his armour bore the colour of crimson red except for his pants, which were of a brownish-black. With this exclusion, all of his armour held a ghostly blue glow within, and every now and then this glow reflected against the ground in what appeared to be a swirl of light. In one hand, he held a long silvery blade with a large ruby at the base of the guard that shone with all the colours of the rainbow. In the other, he held another weapon, which caught the young elf's interest. Inside the fuller, she could make out flashes of lightning moving up and down the electric blue sword_. I cannot be seeing things right ... isn't it impossible to capture lightning?_

"Earth to... whatever your name is," Rastamann said as he waved his hand over Amaryll's eyes, "Have you finished checking out our_ lovely _friend Lechedemy?"

She averted her eyes from the warrior in action to the man standing before her.

"He... fights well," she choked out.

"Yeah... well... so can all of us," Rastamann said, trying to impress the elf, "Now, watch me. I'm so much better than him!"

With one last look at Amaryll, he joined Lechedemy and raised his weapon to a monster on the right of him. A sudden burst of purple light erupted from his arrow-shaped rod, which infiltrated the creatures' defence and sent it to its grave. Rastamann then took the opposite side of his friend and sent flashes of what appeared to be spiked metal bullets, followed by an intense scarlet stream of fire, which then split into three distinctive tails. The monsters groaned in pain and collapsed instantly before him. The man who had threatened her, came from behind the horde and jumped into the fray with a devilish look in his eye. He then smashed his sword into the ground, sending shockwaves across the plain. The earth began to open through wide cracks from where the blade had split the soil, which sent the surrounding monsters to their inevitable deaths. As soon as their carcases fell to the ground, many pieces of gold exploded from their bodies and onto the grass. Amaryll stared at her hands and then back at the fading corpses. _Please don't tell me I touched their blood..._ The three warriors looked around for more of the repulsive animals to slaughter, but there were none to be found. The ground beneath them was a bloody mess, with the smell of death lingering in the air. This didn't seem to worry them, and this took Amaryll by surprise. All three of them leant down and picked up the gold pieces, as well as some transparent yellow rings hiding in the grass that she did not notice before.

"Want a ring elf?" Rastamann called out to her.

Choosing to ignore his question, Amaryll inquired, "Why do you keep their blood?"

All three of them stared at each other and laughed. After a few moments, they calmed down and approached the elf.

"What blood?" Lechedemy asked.

"That gold... stuff."

"That's not blood babe," Rastamann butted in, "That's zen!"

"What's zen?" she inquired further.

"It's money," the character who wanted to kill her suddenly said, "Zen is our currency. It's used to buy potions, weapons and other items that you may need or like."

"Oh," Amaryll replied in a small voice, "Then you must be rich. You guys picked up a lot of, uh, zen, just now."

The three warriors stared at each other again, but this time, they did not laugh. It was almost as if they felt sorry for her for some unknown reason.

"Elf, are you new to this place?" Lechedemy asked her gently.

"Uh... yes Sir. I don't know much about MU," Amaryll admitted.

"You're a noob!" Rastamann said happily, "But you're still a babe to me!"

"Look man, I told you not to speak anymore. You want me to PK you?" the man obsessed with killing people threatened.

"Just try it dude," he said fiercely, "I'll whip your ass!"

As the two men faced off, Lechedemy took off his wings and placed them in his bag. Amaryll didn't know how they could fit in there, but the swordsman seemed to have no trouble managing it. He scratched his head and looked over to the elf.

"Walk with me," he said to her as he walked past her.

Amaryll obeyed.

"Why did you not leave when I said so?" Lechedemy asked as soon as she caught up with him.

"I couldn't move," she answered truthfully, "I don't know what came over me Sir."

"I see..." he trailed off, "What is your name then?"

"Amaryll, Sir."

He paused for a moment, "Like the flower Amaryllis, but only shorter."

"Yes Sir."

"But still as pretty as the flower itself."

She blushed, "Thankyou Sir."

"So you know nothing about MU?" Lechedemy asked again, suddenly changing the topic.

"No," Amaryll answered with a quiver in her voice.

"I see..." he said slowly, "You know, I've been here for a long time and I have never come across anyone who is as innocent as you. "

"Innocent?" she repeated.

"Naive."

She began to feel uncomfortable as they left the two bickering warriors further and further behind. There was something about Lechedemy which frightened her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She had to admit, he seemed like a very knowledgeable person, but the way in which he spoke was somewhat scattered, as if he didn't know what to say to her.

"I don't mean to be naive on purpose Sir," Amaryll began to explain, "I-"

"There is no need to give me a reason," Lechedemy interrupted, "We were all like you when we came here for the first time. But through experience, your knowledge will broaden and you will no longer be naive."

Amaryll laughed, "I should hope so!"

They both smiled at each other.

"The first step to becoming knowledgeable is to observe the world around you, and ask yourself questions which you would like to know the answer to," Lechedemy said profoundly, "The second step is to seek out these answers, because if you do not seek, you will never find."

"But-"

"And the third step is to embrace and accept these answers, no matter how difficult it may be," he finished.

Amaryll waited a moment, just in case he hadn't finished speaking.

"Well Sir, I believe I am at step two," she said quietly, "I have a question on my mind which I really need to know the answer to. I saw you and your friends enter the woodlands of Noria and I followed you because I wanted to know where you were going and-"

"We went to kill the White Wizard and his foul army of orcs," Lechedemy interrupted again.

"Huh?"

"Ah, I forgot you know little about this world," he said apologetically, "The White Wizard is an enemy to every MUitizen that resides in Noria, Lorencia and Devias, the only three towns inhabitable on this vast continent. He launches attacks on the outer rims of these lands, bringing with him a horde of orcs to invade and destroy our towns and our people. If a character defeats the White Wizard, he is rewarded with a jewel of bless for his efforts. My friends and I went to find him, but we were too late – someone had already beaten us to him."

"Who?"

"A Dark Lord," Lechedemy said bitterly, "And a very selfish one at that. We arrived to see him slay the Wizard, collect his reward and disappear. He didn't even stay to destroy the orcs which threatened the land."

_That must have been Lord Shahenshah..._

"But you stayed? Why?" Amaryll asked eagerly.

"Because unlike him, our lives are devoted to protecting and preventing monsters from taking over this world, rather than reaping the rewards that many monsters carry with them."

_He is selfless..._

"That is very noble of you Sir," Amaryll acknowledged.

"Please continue," he said bashfully.

"Yes... well, I followed you and yours friends because I was curious, but as soon as I left the safety of the town, I grabbed the bow and arrow from behind my back as if to protect myself. But the thing is ... I've never used a weapon in my whole entire life! I asked myself how this could be, but I couldn't come up with an answer and so I decided that I would find someone who did have one. I thought that ... perhaps... you... could-"

"Answer your question?" Lechedemy finished.

"... Yes Sir."

"Hmm..." he began, "All I can say is that you are an elf. Your home is the woodlands of Noria, so it's only natural that all elves like yourself just somehow... _know_ how to hunt. It comes to you without thinking, just like squinting your eyes as you look at the sun."

Amaryll looked at him blankly.

"I don't understand."

Lechedemy stopped walking and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"There are things in this world which none of us will ever be able to explain. This is the way of MU and this is how it always has been," he said seriously, "But you must always remember one thing."

"What's that Sir?"

"Never think the impossible is not possible."

He released her shoulders and continued on his way. Amaryll blinked a few times and ran after him.

"But-"

"Do you remember step three to being all knowing?" Lechedemy cut in.

"Yes, but-"

"Then accept the answer you have found and embrace it."

Amaryll closed her eyes in frustration. _How can I accept what isn't logical?_ Lechedemy's strides began to slow as they reached a big boulder which was carved in the shape of a blunt arrowhead... and the path! To her delight, she set foot upon the cobblestones and happily walked side by side with the noble warrior. She wasn't lost anymore, for she knew where she was and soon enough, they arrived back in the safe zone of Noria. As soon as she stepped inside, she placed the bow and arrow on her back and rolled her eyes. _Embrace it... its second nature Amaryll, deal with it!_

"Explain why you left us."

Amaryll was so busy trying to convince herself to accept the unexplainable that she didn't realise the other two characters had joined them. Rastamann stared hard at Lechedemy and the other man looked as if he were ready to kill the both of them.

"Chilakill, calm down," Lechedemy said, "I thought you were going to duel."

"No excuse," he snapped back.

"You're right, I should have told you that I was escorting this young elf back to Noria. My apologies."

"Man!" Rastamann cried, "I coulda done that. Why you? It's not fair!"

"She wanted ask me a few questions, didn't you?" Lechedemy said, putting the elf on the spot.

"Y-yes," she spluttered.

She looked to Rastamann, whose tongue was literally hanging down to the floor with a sense of longing in his eyes. She got the impression that he loved entertaining girls, no matter how ridiculous he sounded. To be sure, he was very handsome – he wore the same type of armour that Shahenshah possessed, but it was much brighter, with shiny waves of silver swirling around his legs and arms. The cape he wore on his back complimented his attire and wavered in the light breeze that moved through Noria. She could tell that he was a Dark Lord, for the features on his face were very similar to that of the self declared _Emperor_, but unlike him, Rastamann's facial expression was much softer and vibrant, rather than grumpy and stern. Then there was Chilakill. When she first heard his name, she thought he was anything but 'chilled'. He was completely covered from head to toe in tough dragon-like armour much like Lechedemy's, but it looked much stronger and darker than that of the latter. Along the top of the chest plate, gloves and boots was a strip of gold lining, which blended into the metallic auburn material he wore. On his back, she saw two massive swords which gleamed in the sunlight, with a hint of a yellow shimmer along the handle and blade. His posture was even more intimidating with the huge wings he wore on his back – it made him look like a human dragon, compared to Lechedemy. Although both sets of wings looked the same, she had to admit that they suited Chilakill more, only because he came across as fearless to Amaryll.

"What kind of questions?" Rastamann said suspiciously.

"It is none of your concern," Lechedemy said shortly.

"What is your name elf?" Chilakill suddenly demanded.

Completely thrown off-guard, she folded her arms and stared hard at the ground.

"My name is Amaryll," she said quietly.

"That's a pretty name babe," Rastamann said happily.

"Are you an Agility Elf, or an Energy Elf?" Chilakill questioned, as if he were interrogating her.

"Um-"

"Well?"

"That's enough Chilakill," Lechedemy said firmly to his friend, "She has just arrived here. There is no way that she knows what she wants to be."

Amaryll closed her eyes and suddenly remembered what Lord Shahenshah had said to her.

"I was told that I should be an Energy Elf," Amaryll spoke up, much to everyone's surprise.

"Really?" Lechedemy said slowly, "And who told you this?"

"Lord Shahenshah Sir."

"_Lord_?" Rastamann butted in, "He is no Lord Amaryll. He's a faggot."

"Shut up, or I will shut you up," Chilakill warned.

"No dude, she has to hear this," Rastamann pressed, "Babe, I've known him for a long time, and he is far from being a Lord. He doesn't even deserve the title! He is a gutless, arrogant prick who thinks that he rules MU. Don't listen to anything he has told you because it will only lead you to trouble."

"That's not entirely true," Lechedemy said in Shahenshah's defence, "He _did_ advise her to be an Energy Elf."

"Yeah, but everyone knows that Agility Elves are useless," Chilakill cut in, "All they do is shoot arrows."

"Now wait a minute man!" Rastamann interjected, "They aren't entirely useless. They do really good damage when they reach higher levels, and they aren't too bad on the eyes either!"

"Can't you ever say anything worth listening to?" Chilakill retorted.

"Not around you."

"Why you-"

Amaryll's mind began to wonder as the two men began to quarrel again. The thought of being an Agility Elf made her feel sick in the stomach. Even though the 'instinct' of knowing how to hunt down an animal coursed through her veins, she knew she wasn't a killer. Lechedemy eyed her closely as she opened her bag and peered inside.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Something that was given to me a little while ago," she replied as she shuffled through her inventory, "Ah here it is. Please trade with me Sir."

Lechedemy held out his hand and Amaryll gladly took it. Her bag automatically opened and she grabbed the orb that Shahenshah gave her.

"I was given this Sir," Amaryll told him, "I haven't really thought about it until now, but-"

"An Orb of Fortitude," Lechedemy read off the top of the sphere, "Only an Energy Elf can use that."

"Forti- what?"

"A defence orb," Lechedemy said as he glanced over at his friends, "It gives you the ability to enhance one's defence."

"But it does not help you kill monsters?"

"No. It only protects you from them."

Amaryll let go of his hand and smiled happily. _I will be an Energy Elf! At least this way, I will not be harming any animal that comes my way... _

"Sir, I do not want to be a killer," Amaryll said bravely.

"Do not think of it as _killing_," Lechedemy said softly, "Think of it as _protecting, _and you will never feel guilt."

"Did you ever feel guilty Sir?"

"I won't deny that there were times when I felt remorse for what I have done in the past, but you see, I have been here since the times of Valhalla and Maya. I have witnessed many things and done even more which have given me reason to believe that the only way to keep the continent of MU safe is to destroy the monsters which plague this land."

Lechedemy straightened up and scanned the area for his companions. They were nowhere to be found.

"Now where have my BK and DL gone?" he said, puzzled.

"What's a BK and DL?" Amaryll queried.

"Ah, it is slang for Blade Knight and Dark Lord."

"Oh? And what are you Sir?"

"Chilakill and myself are Blade Knights," he said proudly, "We are considered the strongest characters on this continent because we are versatile and very, very powerful. Others may disagree, but it all depends on your personal opinion."

_A Blade Knight... yes, they must be the strongest of all..._

"I must go," Lechedemy unexpectedly said, "I fear my friends have had a falling out."

"Will I ever see you again?" Amaryll asked sadly.

"Of course we will," he reassured her, "I've already added you as a friend. All you have to do is accept."

Before she could even say a word, he disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace that he had ever been there in the first place. As she began to make her way over to her favourite toadstool, a little box materialised right before her eyes. It showed Lechedemy's name, and asked her if she wished to add him as a friend. She instantly accepted and the little box vanished. This time, she did not question how the box popped up out of nowhere, she just _accepted _that the unthinkable was possible and _embraced _her newfound revelation of knowledge.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Amaryll looked to the sky and sighed softly. The golden dragons had now disappeared and the land of Noria was returned to its previous state. The safe zone was practically deserted, except for an Elf that was walking towards the Elf Soldier. She watched her carefully as she spoke with her, and quickly diverted her gaze as she came to sit down on the opposite side of the toadstool table.

"Hey," she greeted out of nowhere.

"Um... Hi?" Amaryll said with uncertainty.

She smiled crookedly at Amaryll and burst into tears. Amaryll swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked the weeping Elf.

"I'm... so... lonely..." she said through her sobs, "I... hate... this ... place..."

"What?" Amaryll accidentally let slip in confusion.

The Elf coughed a few times and replied, "Everyone is so cold to me. Even the Elf Soldier will not grant me attack and defence buff anymore. No one talks to me and when they do they are always mean to me."

"Really?" Amaryll exclaimed, "I've met some very nice characters and I've only been here a short while."

Her eyes were all bloodshot and puffy as she looked over at Amaryll. She was very shiny – her armour was all silver and she could have sworn that she saw the colours of the rainbow sweep across it. It made her look like she was an astronaut, ready to launch into space, except that the armour was quite tight against her body, as opposed to looking inflated. The wings on her back resembled that of the Elf Soldier, but in comparison, hers were much smaller. She coughed again and stared straight down at her boots.

"You must one of the lucky ones," she said softly, "What's your name?"

"Amaryll," she said as quietly as the Elf.

"That's a pretty name," she said shakily, "My name is Saddreams."

"Oh, that's a... pretty name too," she complemented, even though it was the most miserable name she had ever heard.

"You don't mean that, it's such a stupid name!"

"No it's not," Amaryll said defensively, "It's a mysterious name. I like mysterious names."

There was a short silence.

"Oh. Oh ok... I didn't know that," Saddreams finally said, content with Amaryll's answer.

She sniffed loudly and wiped her tears on her gloves. The Elf looked a little better, but the rims of her eyes and the top of her nose were bright red. Amaryll felt really sorry for her; she didn't think that someone could have so much bad luck, but yet, Saddreams had proved her wrong. She rose from her toadstool and walked over to the Elf.

"You know... you seem really nice. You've just had a lot of people treat you badly in the past," Amaryll explained, "You shouldn't let them get you down. You should think about the people that you are yet to meet."

Saddreams rubbed her neck and closed her eyes... then she began to laugh.

"You make it sound so easy," she said sadly.

"But it is! You've just got to be more positive and then you will see that it's not so hard to make friends."

She tilted her head to one side and said slowly, "You're not an Agility Elf... are you..."

"Well, no," Amaryll said as she stepped back, "I'm not anything at the moment."

"I can tell. Agility Elves are not as compassionate as Energy Elves," she trailed off, "What level are you?"

"I just got here. I don't even know how to level."

"You're joking right?"

"I wish I was. I don't know anything about this place."

Saddreams let out a thoughtful sigh and said, "Then I will help you gain some levels."

A stunned Amaryll stepped further backwards and scratched her elbow. The last thing that she wanted was an Elf feeling sorry for her.

"That's ok," Amaryll declined, "I'm sure you have more important things to do than help me Saddreams."

She scoffed, "Actually I don't. I'd really like to help you... Please?"

Amaryll shook her head, "I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not? You'll kill monsters faster with me-"

"What?" Amaryll interrupted.

"Monsters. You-" Saddreams stopped in mid-sentence, knowing that Amaryll had no idea what she was talking about, "You level by killing mobs. The mobs give you experience and then this experience increases your level over time."

"I-have-to-kill...monsters?"

She cocked an eyebrow at Amaryll and stood up. It was obvious that the young Elf was mortified at the prospect of slaying a creature. For the first time in their short conversation, Saddreams smiled. She knew all too well what Amaryll was feeling. A small giggle escaped from her lips and she clapped her hands together.

"It's ok, we'll level you... and you won't even have to lift a finger," Saddreams winked.

"We? How?"Amaryll asked eagerly.

"You'll see," was all she said as she sat back down.

Amaryll followed her lead and returned to her toadstool. Both elves awkwardly tried to avoid eye contact as they 'enjoyed' the silence of each other's company. The young Elf had no idea what Saddreams was planning, nor did she understand why this Elf was helping her in the first place. Perhaps she was truly lonely, and needed some company. _Yes, that must be it_. She tried to sneak a glance at Saddreams, only to find that she wasn't there. Immediately, she jumped from her seat and searched her surroundings. She was nowhere to be found. Amaryll couldn't help but laugh silently in her head. _What a strange Elf… _She breathed a sigh of relief and dived into her inventory once again. She didn't want Saddreams to help her level – she wouldn't take her pity kindness. Completely immersed in her own thoughts as she searched through her bag, she almost jumped when a hard tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Amaryll turned around to see Saddreams standing behind her. A surge of anger spread through her body as the Elf smiled happily at her. Amaryll didn't want to see her again. The young Elf forced herself to smile back and went back to shuffling around in her bag. She was just about to pull out the orb Lord Shahenshah had given her, when an olive-skinned face appeared right in front of her eyes.

"Boo!"

Amaryll screamed and slapped it across the face.

"What the hell are you doing? That's going to leave a bruise!" A man's voice yelled.

Saddreams laughed out loud as Amaryll cringed at the sight of the red mark she left across the young man's cheek. He glared at her as he caressed the swollen side of his face. The young Elf looked him up and down and then turned to Saddreams, who was rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Amaryll couldn't help but laugh at the very state of her. It was the first time that she had even seen anyone laugh so hard, so she joined in too. The young man didn't seem to find it funny.

"I do you a favour and this is how you repay me?" he roared, "Saddreams, you are one of a kind. Really, I could never ask for another Elf as stupid as you!"

In response, Saddreams sat upright and calmly replied, "I'm doing you the favour Xdmghyper. You have status."

The young man recoiled and imitated her under his breath. Amaryll stared at the man towering above her. His eyes, lips and nose were tinged with red, and his whole left side was splattered in what appeared to be blood. It was a shame, Amaryll was sad to think, because his armour was beautifully carved. He was completely golden. He looked as if he were a robot, but at the same time, he resembled that of a soldier who was strong with immense power. She also noticed the same strange glow she had seen on Lechedemy, which now illuminated the ground below Xdmghyper's feet in a small swirl that faded away after five seconds. However, he did not look as fierce as Lechedemy. He wore no wings, and Xdmghyper had a demeanour about him which was somewhat... childlike. The way that his eyes danced as he mimicked Saddreams showed her how immature he was. But then again, she could be wrong. _Not a chance!_

"I'm so sorry," Amaryll apologised bravely, "You really startled me."

"That's ok, I have that effect," Xdmghyper snapped at her, "Are you the one I'm supposed to be helping?"

"What?" Amaryll cried, "_You're_ helping me?"

"Well, not really. I only assist people if I get something out of it. Right Saddreams?"

The Energy Elf glared at him. Amaryll could have sworn she heard her mutter a few words under her breath.

"Well, that's why you begged me to help you out," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Whatever," he waved dismissively, "I am the Dark Knight, Xdmghyper. "

"I'm Amaryll, the Elf."

The Dark Knight tilted his head back and laughed hysterically. It wasn't a pleasant sound; it was frightening – even maniacal! He stopped abruptly and stared right into Amaryll's eyes. He then leant in quickly and pulled her right ear near to his mouth.

"I am the King of Noob Land and if you try to overthrow me, I will hunt you down," he threatened nastily.

He pushed her away and smiled sweetly at her. Amaryll could tell that underneath his lopsided grin, he was silently sending her death stares. _This guy isn't a child... he's insane!_

"Alright! Let's do this thing!" Xdmghyper roared so suddenly that Amaryll nearly fell over.

Both Amaryll and Saddreams followed him outside the safe zone and tried to keep up with his pace. The bow she was carrying was beginning to weigh her arms down, so she placed it in her inventory. Halfway across the plain, he stopped abruptly, and swung around.

"Party with me," he demanded, as he held out his hand.

Amaryll did not hesitate and accepted with a handshake. From out of nowhere, a small box appeared, with both their names and a little red bar on top of their heads. Saddreams saw her confusion and patted her shoulder gently.

"The red bar shows how much vitality you have left," Saddreams explained simply, "Vitality is your life. When you run out of it, you are then transported to the closest safe zone so you can continue on your journey."

"How come I cannot see yours?"

Saddreams sighed, "I'm helping both of you. You don't need me to be partied with you, otherwise it will take longer for you to level."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in your case, the lower level you are, the lower the experience you will gain if you are in a party with someone who is a much higher level than you. However, if you are a higher level partied with a lower level with perhaps a couple of levels between you, then you will receive more experience. It's the level gap which determines how much experience you get, so that's why it's very important that you ask other warriors what their level is, otherwise you'll be partied with people who are levelling faster than you are," she finished, "Do you understand?"

Amaryll nodded in response and proceeded to follow the Dark Knight. He stopped for a second and pulled out a helmet that was made out of a bulls head. She was sure that it must have been left out in the sun to dry for too long; it was entirely green... except for the ghostly glow which was hidden underneath the helmet. He pushed his head through the bottom opening and adjusted it accordingly. Now he looked half creature and half man.

"Why are you wearing a bulls head?" Amaryll inquired.

"What are you talking about?" Xdmghyper snapped as he pulled out two blades, "It's an Eplete helmet."

"Eplete?"

"Haven't you ever heard of ancient armour?" he said, shocked, "Many people wear them, because they offer options which increase strength, agility, energy, vitality, attack power and defense."

"In other words," Saddreams cut in, "They make you more powerful."

"I see... so how does the bulls head make you stronger?"

"My vitality increases," Xdmghyper said shortly.

Amaryll knew he was getting fed up with all her questions. She couldn't help the fact that she was new, nor could she help the fact that she was a very curious person. She looked over her shoulder to Saddreams, who was hovering across the plain after them. She held a mace in one hand and in the other; a shield which looked like a rotten avocado sliced in half. Xdmghyper suddenly slowed his pace and crouched to the ground.

"We are getting closer," he murmured to himself.

He jumped up instantaneously and sprinted forward. Amaryll ran as fast as she could, but she couldn't keep up with the Dark Knight; it was as if her legs were restricted by some unknown force which would only let her walk at one pace. She eventually caught up with Xdmghyper, who was hiding in the thicket to the left of her. She followed his line of vision to a small, green creature, brandishing a spiked weapon in the air. It made a high-pitched croak as it hobbled around the field, looking for an opponent. The Dark Knight curled his upper lip and lunged toward the red-eyed fiend. His tomahawks sliced through the creature like butter, and in one split second, it ceased to exist.

"Pathetic little goblin," Xdmghyper cruelly laughed, "You had no chance against the King!"

Amaryll saw Saddreams roll her eyes at the young man and cast a green shield over both of them. She suddenly felt much better; it was nice to have another person around who had some degree of sanity. Without waiting, Xdmghyper leapt up again, in search of another living being to sentence to death. He eventually found one; an algae-covered giant made completely of stone. _How can he possibly defeat this beast? _

"You can't kill that thing!" Amaryll blurted out, "How can your axes slay rock?"

"I don't know!" Xdmghyper snapped once again, "I don't think about logic, I just do it! Just shut up and watch ok?"

Amaryll stepped away from the young man and hid behind Saddreams' wings. She felt the Energy Elf's defence buff run through her body as Xdmghyper plunged his weapon into a groove in the giants' back, causing his whole body to tumble to the floor in a heap of rubble. As she watched Saddreams fly over to him, Amaryll felt a wave of intensity creep through her body. She looked down just in time to see two spirals of light encircle her lower body. Then in a flash, it disappeared.

"Congratulations!" Saddreams squealed in delight, "You just gained yourself a level."

Amaryll, shocked and perplexed, scratched her head and sat down on the grass.

"What just happened?" said a confused Amaryll.

Xdmghyper opened his mouth a couple of times, but he seemed to be completely tongue-tied. Saddreams, however, smiled and hovered over to the young Elf hugging her frail body on the ground.

"You levelled up," she said softly, "That means you are getting stronger."

Amaryll slowly lifted her head from her knees to look at the Elf floating before her.

"I don't feel any stronger..."

"Well, you won't feel stronger until you allocate your points to certain attributes. The higher the points on one attribute, the more powerful you become in that area," she told her, "And because I know you're not an Agility Elf, I'm sure you will place your points into energy."

She stared at Saddreams for a moment. _She knows..._

"She will need _some_ points on other attributes though," Xdmghyper pointed out surprisingly, "Or she won't be able to wear anything. She'll be a naked bitc-"

"Ok! Don't say another word!" Saddreams interjected, "What he means to say is that you need to have enough strength and agility to wear a set."

Amaryll looked to both of them blankly.

"A set is what you wear," Saddreams explained further, knowing that Amaryll didn't understand what she meant, "Look at me. I am wearing a helm, armour, pants, boots and gloves. This is my set. I have just enough points on the attributes I need to wear it."

"A waste if you ask me-"

"If you're not going to help explain this to her then I advise you to zip it!" Saddreams snapped.

Xdmghyper mimicked her under his breath.

"Now, there are many different sets you can have, but certain builds and characters are restricted to what they can wear," Saddreams continued, "I am wearing a Guardian set because I am an Energy Elf. Elves with my build normally wear Vine, Silk, Wind, Spirit or Guardian sets. If you choose to wear anything other than these, then you would be considered an Agility Elf, because these sets require minimal strength and agility. The advantage is that you are able to put all your points into energy and in turn are able to give a stronger buff."

Amaryll rose slowly.

"So you are saying that I need to wear any of those sets to be an Energy Elf?"

"Are you seriously that dense? Of course that's what she's saying!" Xdmghyper spat out, "And stop using _Energy Elf_ because it's really pissing me off. Just say EE and you'll get your point across."

"What is your problem-"

"My _problem_ Saddreams, is that I came out here to get rid of status and here you are TALKING to this noob when I should be killing mobs! I have to go to CC soon and if I don't become a commoner, I will PK you!" Xdmghyper threatened.

Saddreams stared hard into his eyes then pulled away.

"Ok... sorry."

Xdmghyper straightened himself up and charged directly ahead. Amaryll and Saddreams followed in pursuit. She could not believe Xdmghypr's attitude. He was so rude to Saddreams; it was no wonder that she felt like everyone was mean to her. _But he is only one person of thousands that reside in MU, they all can't be as crazy as him... right? _And what on earth was a PK? Amaryll concluded this must be a bad thing, for she remembered Chilakill threatening Rastamann with exactly the same thing. She made a mental note to ask Saddreams about it later.

In the distance all she could see of the Dark Knight was the horns on his helmet; he seemed to be extremely determined to find the creatures of Noria and destroy them. One by one, they fell victim to his mighty axes and it wasn't long before circles after circles of light spiralled insanely around her. Secretly, Amaryll was beginning to enjoy the thrill of gaining more and more levels, but she tried hard not to let it show. After all, she wasn't supposed to be happy about destroying creatures for self-gain... right? After a couple of minutes, the Dark Knight suddenly threw his weapon into the ground and removed his helmet. His set was no longer stained with blood.

"I'm done. My status is gone," he said proudly as the little box above her head closed suddenly, "Seeya 'round."

He held up his middle finger in the air disappeared a few seconds after. Saddreams began to cry.

"Everyone... I... meet... always... leaves... me!" she wailed.

Amaryll rolled her eyes and replied, "I'm here, don't I count for anything?"

She looked at her and smiled widely.

"Yes you are. Now I don't feel so bad."

Amaryll was beginning to think that Saddreams was not sane after all. She clearly had attachment issues.

"Saddreams, you need to realise that the people you meet aren't always going to stay. Everyone has his or her own agendas and almost everyone needs privacy. That's life."

"I know that. It's just the way they leave... it's so abrupt and final, as if I'll never see them again. It's so mean."

"People like that don't deserve your friendship Saddreams. It's just a matter of weeding out who are worth the effort ok?"

She nodded in agreement then flung her arms around the young Elf. The very first thought that crossed Amaryll's mind was to push her to the ground and walk away, but then a feeling of sympathy overwhelmed her and she hugged back. She could feel Saddreams' body soften as the seconds ticked by, which made her extremely uncomfortable so she gently pushed her shoulders back so she could break free. The winged Elf didn't seem to mind.

"So where are we to go now?" Amaryll asked in her politest voice.

Shocked by her sudden question, Saddreams replied sadly, "Home I guess."

She whirled around and fluttered away in the direction of the safezone. Amaryll contemplated on leaving her side, but thought it unwise, so she reluctantly trudged along behind her.

"So how do you feel about levelling now?" Saddreams called out to her.

"It's uh... It's ok. I mean, I didn't even do anything, so I don't know what to feel..." she lied.

"So in other words, you enjoyed it," she finalised, "You can't fool me Amaryll. Everyone loves the feeling they get when they level. It's like a shot of adrenalin everytime."

"But are we supposed to like it?" Amaryll rationalised, "We are getting kicks out of killing innocent creatures-"

Saddreams stopped.

"Don't think for a minute they are innocent," Saddreams cut off seriously, "They are the ones who started this war between monster and MUitizen. They don't understand what the word _reason_ means."

"Reason?" Amaryll repeated as she watched her fly off again.

Saddreams sighed and explained, "For example, we might be walking down a path and they will follow us and try to kill us. There won't be any reason behind it, they will just do it. We never looked for a fight Amaryll... they did."

"So are PK's a kind of monster too?" Amaryll asked, remembering her mental note.

"Well, it depends on how you look at it," she answered, "PK stands for Player Kill. It means to kill another character. Some PKers kill for no reason just like monsters, but others kill for a reason, which sets them apart from monsters. MUitizens try to steer clear of them, otherwise it can lead to many murders."

"How do you know if a person is a PK?"

"You will know a Pker when you see one. They are almost always red and black."

By the end of her sentence, they found themselves back in Noria.

"Well, that was quick! How did we get here so fast?" Amaryll asked.

"It's the high that you get from levelling… it can alter anyone's perception of time, especially if you enjoyed it!" Saddreams winked.

Amaryll cringed. _I did NOT enjoy it… _her eyes darted around the safe zone for some sort of distraction, for she knew her frustration was spreading across her face right then and there. Saddreams frowned.

"I was just joking Amaryll. You know… it's ok to feel a _little _satisfaction once in a while without the guilt," she said softly.

"It just feels so wrong to enjoy another creature's pain-"

"Amaryll! That's enough!" Saddreams snapped and rolled her eyes, "You have to learn to detach yourself from those feelings, otherwise you'll never get anywhere."

"But-"

"Sssh!" she hissed, as she raised her finger to her mouth, obviously fed up with her constant whining.

Amaryll felt she was skating on thin ice. She realised that her inquisitive nature seemed to be defining her personality, which was one of worry and feebleness. To make matters worse, she was deterring the only character who genuinely wanted to help her, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would leave because of her naïve curiosity. The only problem was that it was extremely difficult to let go of all reason and just accept those things which could not be explained. Furthermore, her conscious was riving her crazy in ways she never thought were possible. To let go of both reason and feeling was, right now… impossible. In the long run, she knew it would be beneficial for both herself and those around her - and those she was yet to meet - to discard all that she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to do it… or could she?

"Saddreams," Amaryll said with a deep breath, "I'm-"

"Oh my goodness!" she interrupted with a high pitched squeal, "I knew there was something I forgot to show you - come on! Let's go!"

Before Amaryll could even react to her sudden mood swing, Saddreams had grabbed her arm and proceeded to pull her through the Noria safe zone at an alarming pace. All Amaryll could do was stumble along… and anticipate what was yet to come.


	4. Chapter 4 Part I

Chapter 4

"Here we are."

After regaining her balance from the sudden rush of spontaneity, Amaryll tore her eyes away from the ground below her, straightened up and exhaled loudly . She had _just _managed to keep up with Saddream's quick pace… whilst balancing the half of her body attached to her arm she hijacked without permission. _She had better have a good reason for dragging me out here…_

Amaryll scanned the area and locked her vision onto three huge, treasure chests. They sat upon a mound of damp dirt before her, with their wooden exterior rotting away on top of one another. The chest closest to her was open and full of armour that she had never seen before in her life, and a beautiful, polished sword lodged upright into the bottom of the trunk. She couldn't believe that these treasures even existed, let alone out in the open for all to see! To the right of them, stood a man slightly shorter than herself, covered from head to toe in what she believed to be noblemen armour from the Middle Ages. Saddreams approached the stranger and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Amaryll, I'd like you to meet Baz… aka, the Safety Guardian," she introduced gleefully.

He bowed deeply to both of them, as if to acknowledge their presence. The young Elf thought him very noble with his polished full bodied armour, low bow and dignified silence, but found it extremely odd that he did not lift the visor of his helmet to them. She didn't like the idea of staring at a piece of metal where his face should have been; it unnerved her.

"Hi?" Amaryll greeted cautiously.

The Safety Guardian bowed graciously to the both of them as he had before. Then he bowed again. And again.

"Uh… Why does he keep bowing?" Amaryll asked her companion, backing away slightly.

"Ahh," Saddreams took her to one side and whispered in her ear, "He does a good job, but you see… he's not all there."

"Wha…"Amaryll trailed off as Saddreams touched her head, "Oh, _not there_. Ok… you mean in the head right?"

"Obviously!" she exclaimed under her breath, "Stop being so noob!"

"Noob? What is a noob?" Amaryll demanded to know.

"It's - uh… no… forget I said anything," the winged Elf retracted, knowing all too well that she should have kept her mouth shut.

"No, I want to know what it means Saddreams!" she pressed on, "I've been called a noob before and I didn't like it back then. And I certainly don't like being called one right now."

"Honestly, I was just joking - it really doesn't mean anything-"

"Well it might not mean anything to you but it means something to me!"

Saddreams laughed nervously and hugged herself. She backed away from Baz, not wanting him to hear what she was about to say. The young Elf stepped after her and braced herself, for she knew that it wasn't going to be a nice thing to hear.

"Alright… I'll tell you, but you can't be mad with me, ok?" she begged.

"Just tell me Saddreams!"

"Ok," the Energy Elf took a deep breath and then mumbled, "A noob… is someone who is new to a concept or an idea… or in your instance Amaryll, a new place. It's just a way that… more experienced MUitizens… try to…. insult newcomers due to their lack of knowledge. But I didn't mean to insult you-"

Of all the things she thought Saddreams would say, this was the last thing she expected to hear. And she was offended. _Unspeakably _offended. Amaryll crossed her arms viciously and stormed off. She could hear her so called '_friend_' calling after her, but ignored her completely. _How dare she call me a noob! No wonder everyone leaves her - _

"Please come back!"

_How could she? I'd never say something like that to someone I was helping - _

"I didn't mean it!"

_She's a two-faced backstabber! I'm never going to talk to her again - _

"Amaryll wait, please!"

_I should get Chilakill to PK her - _

A hand appeared on her shoulder and spun her around on the spot. She came face to face with Saddreams. The young Elf stared her down and her '_friend' _let her go.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have called you noob," she apologised sincerely, "I was just joking around; it wasn't meant to insult you per se. Really. I mean, if I do or say something noobish in the future, I give you permission to call me a noob, ok?"

Amaryll stared harder.

"Oh come on, please trust me on this one ok?" Saddreams pleaded, "Why would I insult you when… when you're the only one that I have left? I was just joking…"

She started to cry. Amaryll rolled her eyes in her mind and softened her stance. The winged Elf was right. Why _would_ she insult the only person she didn't want to leave her side? It just didn't make sense… perhaps she was telling the truth and said it in passing, not meaning to offend her on purpose… _Have I overreacted? _She was beginning to feel bad.

"Please stop crying," the young Elf said softly, "I think I just misunderstood the context. I think it was wrong of me to walk away."

Saddreams sniffled and smiled slightly. For some reason her simpered, tear stained face made her feel a lot better. _Yes, I think that she meant it to be harmless name calling, I can't believe I took it the wrong way… I'm such an idiot! _She shook her head in shame.

"So you forgive me?"

"No. You're right. I am a noob," Amaryll reluctantly admitted, "I can't forgive you for telling the truth; only a true noob would act like I did just then!"

Saddreams laughed, "Ok, so there's nothing to forgive. I got you."

Amaryll let out a small chuckle. She made a mental note not to react the same way again… and to learn to distinguish between 'friendly' name calling and a real insult. From out of nowhere, the Energy Elf grabbed her hand and led her towards the Safety Guardian, obviously wanting to pick up where they left off. This made her uneasy, as this _Baz_ character disturbed her but went along with it, not wanting to make her companion burst into tears again.

"Ok, so as I was saying before," Saddreams started, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, "This is the Safety Guardian. He's a very important person, as every Muitizen entrusts him with all our valuables. He is the Vault Keeper."

"Vault Keeper?"

"Yup. He looks after every vault on the continent of MU. And he does a really good job of it too."

Amaryll lent into her ear, "Even though he's _not all there_?"

"Ha ha, it's a very simple job. Even a baby could do it. And besides, he loves it and we respect him for doing such a boring job."

"So how do Vaults work?" the young Elf asked.

"Well, the first thing you do is ask him to open your vault," Saddreams instructed, "Then you put the valuables you'd like to store inside your vault or take out the valuables you want to use or sell."

"That seems really easy," Amaryll said, surprised, "But is it safe?"

"Of course it's safe! But you can choose how secure you want it to be," the winged Elf said simply.

Amaryll couldn't help but ask, "How?"

"You can put a four number password in as a safety measure, so every time you want to withdraw a valuable, you punch in your password and presto! You have your valuables. But extra security does come at a price."

"Do you mean that I have to pay a fee of some sort when I want to take anything out of my Vault?"

"Exactly. Everything single item you withdraw from your vault incurs a fee. Even without the extra security, you still have to pay a fee to withdraw valuables, but not as much," Saddreams explained further, "The fee you pay depends on your level. The higher your level, the more you have to pay. "

"Oh..." she trailed off as confusion set in.

"You know what?" her companion suddenly said, "I think the best way for you to understand all this is if you take a look for yourself!"

"What? You mean you're going to show me your Vault?" asked an alarmed Elf, not wanting to approach the Safety Guardian for a third time.

"Oh hell no! That's another thing you need to know. You can only view your own Vault," Saddreams stated without a hint of negotiation, "There's no way I can show you mine. When your Vault is opened and there are others around you, it becomes invisible to them. Even if you're by yourself it's the same thing. So there's no way you could see mine…even if I let you."

"So, that's another safety measure? Invisibility?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, would you be comfortable with other people looking at your possessions? I-don't-think-so!"

Amaryll nodded enthusiastically in agreement. The very thought of someone looking over her shoulder and ogling her valuables was unsettling. She shuddered uncontrollably. _Snap out of it Amaryll! It's never going to happen ok? Stop thinking bad thoughts!_

"I think I understand the Vault system now. So what's next?" the young Elf asked, her eyes darting between Saddreams and the Safety Guardian.

"Now, wait a second. You haven't had a look at your own Vault yet!"

She started to panic, "Uh, no. It's ok, I'll have a look another time."

"Not negotiable. You're going to do it right now," Saddreams said, ignorant to her plight, "It's better you get it over and done with while it's still fresh in both our heads."

"Really, I-"

"Stop being such a scaredy-cat and open your Vault!"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! It's for your own benefit. Just get it over and done with."

The young Elf took a big breath. _I can do this…_ With reluctance, Amaryll slowly approached the Safety Guardian. She didn't like being pressured into things she didn't want to do, but thinking back to what had happened between them both just before, she thought it was the least she could do after losing her cool. After all, they were friends… right?

"Hi again!" Amaryll greeted a little too cheerfully, "I was, uh, wondering if you could open my Vault… please?"

She looked back to Saddreams, who gave her a thumbs up. _I hope she realises that this is way out of my comfort zone right now… _The Safety Guardian put his hands on his hips and stared at her for a moment. And then...

_Oh. My. God_...

She couldn't believe what she was seeing! The Elf jumped back in surprise as a huge dark grey wall with a grid-like pattern appeared right in front of her eyes. The Vault was at least four times bigger than herself and more than three times her width! Even glancing to the top of it gave her a headache; she had never seen anything so unnatural in her life! Towards the bottom of the Vault she saw an icon which looked like a pile of zen etched next to an elongated rectangle with the number '0' inside it. Below this was another indented box displaying a number '1' next to a sign embossed 'Storage Fee'. _That must be the fee Saddreams was talking about before… _Amaryll scanned the Vault further. She could see three buttons carved into the wall centred at the bottom and in the top right hand corner she could see an orange sphere with an 'X' printed on its surface and… well… that was it. There was nothing else that she could see of any interest.

Her heart sunk. She thought she would be looking at something other than dark grey squares; perhaps a colourful flag or some sort of ancient inscription, but there was nothing of the sort to be seen. The young Elf was extremely disappointed. After all, Saddreams had practically bullied her into exploring her Vault and emphasised how important it was for her to have one. Perhaps her valuables were invisible, but that couldn't be right; Saddreams had said the only extra safety measure was a password. Unless…

"Is it empty?" Amaryl asked uncertainly.

"Of course it's empty! You haven't put anything inside it. You can only take out what you put in!" her companion replied, "And besides, you're new here. It's not as if you'd have anything valuable to put in your Vault in the first place. Give it time and you'll have some stuff to store in your Vault."

She took a moment to process this information and nodded in agreement, "Ok, so what about these buttons down here? What do they do?"

"Huh? You mean _Deposit_, _Withdraw_ and _Warehouse Lock and Unlock, _right?" Saddreams asked rhetorically, "The first two relate to depositing and withdrawing zen. Some Muitizens don't like to carry a heap of zen around with them, so the Vault doubles up as a type of banking facility. There's a limit of how much zen you can keep in there though."

"Limit? So you can't put all your zen in there?"

"Well, you can put a fair amount in there, but I doubt either of us will see that much zen in our lifetime. But I could be wrong about that. We might get lucky."

"Oh yes, I hope so!" Amaryll exclaimed as she turned to face Saddreams.

"Yeah… there's another thing I forgot to mention," the winged Elf continued, dismissing the young Elf's excitement, "If you want to withdraw zen, you do have to pay a fee, just like when you withdraw valuables."

"How do I know how much I have to pay?"

"Take a look at the long black box above the three buttons," she instructed, "There should be a number in there. That is the fee that you will pay for withdrawing both zen and valuables."

Amaryll cast her eyes to the 'Storage Fee'. Inside the rectangle was the number '1' that she noticed when she first inspected her Vault. _Oh good! I thought the fee would be much higher than that… _

"It's very cheap," she said out loud.

"That's because you are a low level right now. It will increase once you get stronger. The Storage Fee will also increase if you decide to lock your Vault with a password, just like I mentioned before with valuables."

"So if I want to deposit zen-"

"You just press the button and a box will pop up. It'll ask you how much you'd like to deposit and you input the amount, press 'OK', hand the zen over to Baz and that's it! Pretty simple isn't it?" Saddreams finished.

"What about when I want to withdraw some zen?"

"Same thing applies; only when Baz hands over your zen, he'll take the fee from your withdrawn amount."

_That seems pretty reasonable…_ In the corner of her eye she could see the Safety Guardian staring in her direction and bowing. She wanted to get away from his presence… and fast.

"I think I'm done here," she said quickly, "How do I close it?"

"You need to press on the 'X' in the top right corner of your Vault."

Amaryll turned to face the Vault once again and slowly looked up. The orange sphere was way out of her reach! _How does she expect me to get all the way up there?_ Saddreams laughed hard at the expression on her face. She found it extremely amusing to watch as the young Elf attempted to jump and scramble to get to the top of the Vault.

"Another way you can close it is by stepping back from it," Saddreams informed her friend as a way of showing mercy, "You need wings to reach the 'X', which you will get when your level increases."

Amaryll glared at her. _Now she tells me? _She was half up the side of the Vault and was relieved to hear that she didn't have to climb the rest of the way. The Elf jumped down immediately and took a step backwards. And just as Saddreams said, her Vault completely disappeared. The panic swelling in her stomach suddenly subsided and she made her way towards her friend.

All she did was throw her arms in the air and say, "Sorry, but I could not resist!"

"Yeah… I bet you couldn't… _resist_," was all Amaryll could come back with.

"Look on the bright side; you know how the Vault System works now!"

"No I don't," she replied shortly, seriously annoyed with her companion, "You didn't tell me what the last button was for."

She paused, "Oh right… I didn't, didn't I? Well, by pressing the _Warehouse Lock and Unlock _button, you can add the safety measure of a password. You create a four number password by following the prompts. Then you can turn it either on or off by entering your newly created password and walla! It's done."

"Just like that?"

"Yup. Just like that. Also-"

"Hello there ladies," a down-trodden man interrupted from out of nowhere, "Can you spare some zen for this Knight down on his luck?"

Both Elves were caught off guard and backed away from him slowly. It took a moment for Saddreams to realise what he was doing. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned away as he cupped his hands before her.

"Get away you beggar!" she barked and pulled Amaryll away from him.

Once they were a good distance from the Dark Knight, Saddreams breathed a sigh of relief. She clenched her fists tightly and made a growling sound. The young Elf had no idea what was going on.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I hate scammers," she said under her breath.

"What are scammers?"

"Scammers will either trick you into giving them things or they may give you things which they say are very valuable but really, they're worthless. There are many other scams, but those two are the main ones used on this continent. Unfortunately, you'll still lose out regardless of which one you fall for."

"But you called him a beggar…"

After a deep breath, Saddreams began to explain, "You haven't been here as long as have, so you haven't really seen it… yet. But scammers and beggars are essentially same thing – well, sort of – but what I mean to say is that it's difficult to distinguish between the two."

Amaryll quickly glanced over her shoulder and met with a pair of empty, sorrowful eyes. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy when she saw his dirty and tattered clothes. He attempted to smile at her, but stopped halfway, as if suddenly remembering something horrible. She closed her eyes and frowned.

"Beggars and scammers are alike because they both ask for things," Saddreams said loudly, trying to distract Amaryll from the half-naked man, "And you don't know whether or not they are going to play you for a fool. Beggars are just too lazy to do things for themselves and expect everyone will give them things… that's why I hate them so much."

Amaryll watched as he started to kick the toadstool table, "But surely that man can't be a scammer. I mean, look at him-"

"Don't be fooled by appearances Amaryll," Saddreams said sternly, "He might look like a beggar, but he's probably got a stash of goods locked up in his Vault."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the man walking aimlessly towards the Elf Soldier. Her gut was telling her to ignore the winged Elf's last comment; for the way he had asked for zen and the glint of sadness in his eyes seemed so genuine that turning a blind eye to him would go against her morals and ultimately eat her up inside. The sound of his voice played on her mind. There was just something about it that was so distinguished, but yet broken. _I need to find out the truth…._

"I think you're wrong," Amaryll told her companion and hurried off in the direction of the Dark Knight.

All Saddreams could do was let out a gasp mixed with shock and offence as she watched the young Elf - in her opinion - make a fool of herself. She knew better than to associate with 'low-life's' and started to walk away, embarrassed by her friends' actions. But then she stopped. She realised that if she left her, she would be doing the exact same thing that everyone else had done to her in the past. Leave without a word. Her shoulders slumped as she knew she had to watch with inner humiliation as Amaryll attempted to prove her wrong…


	5. Chapter 4 Part II

Chapter 4 Part II

Amaryll was nervous. Her heart was pounding against her chest so hard and fast she thought it was going to explode. It was a strange sensation; she couldn't understand why her body was working itself up, while her mind remained cool and collected. Perhaps it was the fear that such a poor man would reject her kindness. Or that her pity could backfire… she didn't know. But whatever the reason for her rising stress levels, she knew that she was doing the right thing.

The young Elf slowly approached the Blade Knight and then stopped. _He needs zen… _She opened her inventory, scooped out some gold coins at the bottom of her bag and counted it. _One, two, three… twenty- six. Hang on… _Amaryll scratched her head briefly. _I thought I had more than that! _At this afterthought, she just shrugged her shoulders, through the zen back in her bag and searched the Noria safe zone for the Knight. He was standing by a golden arched fence beside the Elf Soldier, whistling to himself when she reached him.

"Hi Mr Knight," Amaryll greeted nervously.

"Why hello young one, are you here to humiliate me further?" he replied sadly, obviously transfixed on something behind her.

Amaryll narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced over her shoulder; she could see Saddreams in the distance with her arms folded, staring right back at her. She mouthed 'what are you doing?'. In response, the winged Elf just folded her arms and scoffed. _What is her problem? _She shook her head with disbelief and turned her attention to the man before her. Up close, she could see he was a little old in the face but had definitely aged gracefully. His hair was a mixture of light and dark browns tones which sat on his head in an array of different spiky lengths. He had beautiful, dark brown eyes, which, to her dismay, seemed lifeless, as if he had nothing to fill the void. From his neck down she noticed that he was quite broad-shouldered and wore a navy blue coloured body suit which showed off his strong, muscular physique. His gloves and boots had been worn through and the tattered, heshen-like garment he wore on top of the body suit fell below his thighs… just covering his pelvic area. The last thing she observed was a golden crest embellished across his torso… which seemed to symbolise some sort of alliance. She came to the conclusion that perhaps this man had fallen from his glory days, and was determined more than ever to give him hope that things will get better.

"I'm not here to humiliate you," she answered seriously, "And I'm really sorry about my friend back there; she doesn't take kindly to, um, strangers. But I'm not like her. I want to help you."

The man looked at her blankly for a moment, then said graciously, "That's very kind of you…"

"I don't have much, I mean, I've just arrived here, but I hope that this will help," she said as she fumbled around in her inventory for her zen.

"You've just arrived here? So you're new?" he asked with a surprised face.

"Yes Mr," the young Elf nodded, whilst pulling out the gold coins, "I don't have much, but I hope it will help you."

She attempted to give him the zen, but each time she held her hand out, nothing happened… it was as if something was preventing her from doing so.

"Um, I can't seem to give it to you," she told the man, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Well of course you can't. You need to trade with me."

Amaryll smacked the side of her head, "That's right, I forgot!"

Feeling a little relieved, she held out her hand, which the Blade Knight shook happily. As expected, her inventory popped up as it had all the previous times. She grabbed the zen and handed it over to the poor man. But instead of accepting the trade, he stared at the money and went silent. _Huh? Why is this taking so long?_ He began to chuckle softly… then started to laugh hysterically. The young Elf didn't understand why his mood had changed so suddenly… and she was beginning to think that helping him wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Why are you laughing?" asked a confused Amaryll.

The Knight closed the trade and calmed himself down.

"I cannot accept _that_," he said bluntly.

"W-what?" she spluttered, starting to believe that the winged Elf could be right about him, "What do you mean you can't _accept _it? It's zen, isn't it?"

Saddreams had seen and heard everything. And she had had enough. Her friend was clearly in distress and it was time to step in and save her from more humiliation.

"Well-"

"What's going on here?" Saddreams interrupted, glowering at him.

A shocked Amaryll looked at her friend in bewilderment. _Seriously… what is her angle? First she stares me down, and now she's butting in? I don't understand why she is doing this…_

"This Elf," the man addressed the Energy Elf, oblivious to her death stare, "Is one of the most genuine people I have met on this continent. She has just offered me some zen and I am truly grateful for her concern."

"But you didn't take it Mr!" Amaryll said loudly, extremely hurt by his actions.

"So, let me get this straight," Saddreams stepped up, "My friend offered you all the zen she possessed and you refused to take it? You're a piece of work."

"Just wait a sec-"

"Oh no, you listen to me you… you scammer!" she spat angrily, cutting him short, "You thought you were going to get a good haul from her didn't you?"

"No, that's not what hap-"

"And when you saw what she had to offer, you knew that she was a noob - sorry Amaryll, you know I don't refer to you per se - and you didn't want it. Her money wasn't good enough for you, was it?"

"That's not true!" the Blade Knight denied outright, "Her money _is _good enough for me!"

"So why not take it huh?"

"Well, there's a very simple answer to that one," he told her as he moved in closer to Saddreams, "Like you said. She's a noob. I'm not going to take anything from someone needs it more than I do."

"Huh. As if I'm going to believe you. You're a scammer; you'll say anything to get out of trouble."

"I am not a scammer EE."

"So why are you asking for zen then, BK?"

"That is none of your business," he said defensively.

"It is my business when it involves my friend here."

Amaryll felt a warmth spread through her body. Saddreams's protectiveness over her was very touching and she realised that she was only looking out for her all this time. _I should have listened to her from the start, then all of this could have been avoided…_

"I don't want to talk about it-"

"Well, you should have thought about that when you tried to scam my dear friend Amaryll here!"

"Leave it EE," he warned.

"Or what? You'll scam me too?"

"No-"

"So what is it if you're not a scammer then?"

Amaryll could see the frustration mounting on the Blade Knight's face. Her companion's badgering was beginning to break him down. But she had to admit; It wasn't a nice way of extracting a confession, especially when it wasn't really necessary. It wasn't as if he had tried to kill her; all he had done was reject her…

"Like I said before, just leave it alone - leave me alone!"

"So I'm right then-"

"I WAS HACKED, OK?"

The man screamed these words at the top of his lungs and caught both Elves off guard once again. His face was contorted and in pain, as if he had been wounded and he looked as if he were to collapse at any given moment. Yet again, Amaryll didn't understand what was going on, but by the look of horror on Saddream's face, it wasn't good.

"ARE YOU HAPPY EE?" the Blade Knight yelled in anguish.

The winged Elf looked away, "Why should I believe you? You could be lying-"

"LOOK AT ME!"

Saddreams flinched. She refused to obey. The young Elf placed her hand on her shoulder for but was shrugged off instantaneously.

"I'm sorry… I…"

With tears welling in her eyes, Saddreams turned to Amaryll with a crooked smile… and disappeared. She stared at the place her companion had been and then moved forward to confront the Knight. She was angry. He looked at her and backed away; it was if he was afraid of her.

"You've scared my friend away," Amaryll said angrily.

"I'm sorry Elf," he apologised with a strained voice, "I didn't know she was going to react like that."

"You yelled at her," she furthered.

"Quite frankly, she deserved it. There's only so much one can take."

_He must be talking about the pressure Saddreams put him under…_

"She was only looking out for me; she didn't deserve it Mr!"

The man let out a sigh, "Perhaps you're right. But it was wrong of her to… to…"

"To what?" the young Elf finished, realising he couldn't finish his sentence.

"… Let's just say… being hacked isn't something I like to share with complete strangers."

"Is being hacked a bad thing?" she asked, not knowing how insensitive she was to his plight.

The Blade Knight rubbed his eyes, "Yes, it is a bad thing. It's probably the worst thing that can happen to you here on MU. I hope is never happens to you young one."

"But why is it bad?" she questioned further, her anger slowly fading.

To this, the man gestured her over to the toadstool table and chairs and sat down, "Once, I was a very wealthy man. I had many friends and valuables to die for. Then one night I went to sleep. And when I woke up the next morning… everything was gone."

"What do you mean 'everything'?"

"Everything that I worked for was gone. My jewels, my zen, my valuables, my set… everything. Gone."

Amaryll was horrified. _But wait…_

"What about your Vault? Didn't you get the Safety Guardian to protect your possessions?"

"I did," he answered then lowered his voice, "But this was done by professionals who make a living out of hacking. Even the Safety Guardian couldn't have stopped them."

"So the Vault System has some safety issues? Saddreams gave me the impression that it was practically impenetrable."

"So that's the EE's name then? Saddreams… interesting," he said thoughtfully, "Pray tell, what might your name be?"

Taken aback by his formality, she replied, "My name is Amaryll, Mr."

"That's right, your friend mentioned it in the heat of the moment. She's very fond of you; definitely spoke with a lot of passion in her voice. She is very loyal to you young one."

For the first time since she laid eyes on him; he smiled. It made her feel much better knowing that he could show happiness even when he was grieving inside.

"She warned me not to talk to you, you know."

"And she was right," he agreed, "But yet you ignored her. That is why I said you are one of the most kindest people I have met. You were willing to help me regardless of my situation. That quality is so rare to find on this continent. I commend your generosity."

"Thankyou Mr."

"My name is Tegea young one, you don't need to call me Mr; I'm not that old!"

They both laughed. For some strange reason, Amaryll felt very comfortable in his presence. It was strange to think that just a few minutes ago she was furious him and now, she was enjoying his company. She admired the fact that he could openly talk about his past with her and yet still be an incredibly nice person.

"So where are you headed now?"

The young Elf tilted her head and gazed up in the air, "I don't know. I was levelling before with Saddreams-"

"Then that is what we shall do!" Tegea jumped up, almost knocking over the table.

"You mean level up? But I have no one to level with."

"What do you mean? You have a bow and arrow, why would you need someone to help you?"

"I have a hard time accepting the slaughter of animals is for the greater good of MU," she confessed.

He nodded in response, "Ok… I admire your honesty. Then I guess I won't be able to help you level after all."

"Why not?" Amaryll cried.

"Believe it or not, but I am a very high level; four hundred to be exact" Tegea said proudly, straightening himself up, "You won't get any experience with me."

_Now where have I heard that one before…_

"Well, thanks for offering anyway-"

"Young one, I said that _I _couldn't help you level. But I can help you in another way. Come."

The Blade Knight led her past the Safety Guardian and out of the Noria safe zone. She had never been this way before; to the right of her was a huge, leafy green tree that swayed serenely in the breeze above her and there was a lot more shrubbery fringing the cobblestone path she was standing on.

"This is the south west side of Noria," Tegea announced as if he were a tour guide, "This path takes you all the way to Lorencia. The funny thing is that not very many people come by this way, even if it does connect the two places."

"I've never heard of this Lorencia place before," Amaryll said, intrigued by the name of this place she just found out existed.

"I'm not surprised. Elves only find out about it once they stumble across the entrance, or are told about it like you are now. I come from Lorencia. It is a dark place to be young one, so I don't visit there much. I much prefer to be here in Noria," he said happily.

"How come it's dark-"

"You there!" he called out suddenly, cutting her off.

Amaryll swung around. She could see a figure in the distance, which obviously had seen them both. It waved to them and walked off.

"Come here!" Tegea commanded with a strong voice.

The figure stopped for a brief moment, then proceeded to move forward. Needless to say, the young Elf was very impressed with his triumph; she _never _would have had the courage to attempt something so bold. He smiled happily as they waited on the path for the stranger. As he came closer, she could see it was a man… not because of his face, but because of the way he walked. He took long strides, with a little bit of bounce in his step. He wore armour that was very similar to that which she saw in the treasure chest that Baz guarded and held a shield full of studded spikes. In his other hand, he clutched a sturdy sword with a curved blade that reminded her of a pirate's cutlass. He had an angular shaped helmet that prevented her from seeing his face; it looked as if it were made of brass. When he came face to face with Tegea he took it off abruptly and flicked his hair back. Amaryll had to agree he was very handsome, with his dark grey eyes, chiselled features and jet black hair. Butterflies were beginning to form in the pit of her stomach.

"What do you want BK?" he asked in annoyance.

"Firstly, I would like to say thankyou for honouring us with your presence," Tegea said graciously.

"Rriigghhhtt… you're pretty old school," he said curtly, "So you got me here, what do you want?"

"I would appreciate it if you looked after my little friend here," the BK smiled as he pushed Amaryll in front of him.

He looked her up and down, "… you're joking right?"

"Why would I joke?" he questioned as his smile slipped off his face, "She is new to MU and could do with a helping hand."

"Yeah… I can see that," he said slowly, obviously checking Amaryll out at the same time, "Alright, I'll do it. What's in it for me?"

"I-I beg your pardon?" Tegea spluttered involuntarily, "What do you mean 'what's in it for me?'"

"Well, you can't just expect me to party with her without some sort of payment," the Dark Knight said as he crossed his arms.

"Payment? _Payment? _See here you noob, back in my day we used to party with anyone for the sake of experience," Tegea replied angrily, extremely shocked with the Knight's attitude, "This Elf needs help and I think the satisfaction of knowing you're doing a good deed for another outweighs any consideration we can give you."

"Whatever. Sorry to break it to you but the old days are gone. Get with it old man," he replied rudely, "No payment, no party. Simple as that."

"I cannot offer you anything DK… I was hacked-"

"Not my problem," he dismissed brazenly and turned his attention to Amaryll, "What about you Elf? What have you got?"

She thought about this for a moment. _What have I got? _Thinking back to what she had stored in her inventory, all she had was an orb Lord Shahenshah have given her, some zen, and a ring. Overall, she had diddlysquat. And to be honest, she didn't want to give this man any of her possessions; she felt she needed them more than she needed his help.

"I don't have anything-"

"She's got me!"

_That voice! _The young Elf whirled around to see Saddreams floating towards them. For the first time since they met, she felt _relieved _to see the very sight of her. The winged Elf smiled contently as she made her way to the threesome and stood right between the two men. Both Knights were taken by surprise; one with shock and the other with victory. All Amaryll wanted to do at the very moment was squeal with delight, but held her tongue, knowing that this wasn't the time or place to do so.

"She's got me DK," Saddreams repeated, her voice growing stronger with every word spoken.

Recovering slightly from the shock of her arrival, he responded, "Oh yeah? So what have you got for me then, Elf?"

The Energy Elf smiled slightly and proceed to cast her magic force field around him. His face lit up after a short moment and then he held his hand out.

"You've got yourself a deal," he said in a business-like manner.

At first, the young Elf hesitated. Did she really want to be partied with a man who valued what he could get out of it, rather than being a good Samaritan? She looked to Tegea, who gave her a reassuring smile and then to Saddreams. Her friend was not happy with this choice of warrior, but knew that Amaryll would not get anywhere if she didn't take it upon herself to level with him. So she too, smiled reassuringly and the Elf shook his hand. The little red box appeared above her head and over the DK's. She could see his name…

"Nice to meet you, Turnbull," she greeted nervously, her butterflies getting stronger.

The Dark Knight ignored her, "Let's go."

"Wait."

All three of them turned to the Energy Elf.

"I want to say sorry to you BK," Saddreams said to Tegea, "If I had known you were hacked, I definitely would have helped you… no questions asked."

Tegea turned a bright red, "That's ok EE. You weren't to know what had happened. It's not something I want to tell the whole world."

"I'm sorry I called you a beggar and a scammer-"

"Really, Saddreams, it's fine," he assured her.

"Ok, it's all good now? Let's roll," Turnbull cut in rudely and then mumbled, " Ihatethisbullshitfeelingscrap."

The BK gave Amaryll a final hug and whispered, "If you ever need me, mail me. You are a good person young one, you will go far on this continent."

"Thankyou Tegea."

A little box appeared before her, which she decided to name 'The Friendship Box'. She gladly accepted Tegea's request as she had done with Lechedemy and waved farwell…. _Goodbye Tegea, I hope one day we will meet again…_

Before she knew it, she was being dragged further into the Noria Plains by Turnbull. Saddreams followed from behind and buffed them both with defence and attack shields. The DK led the way and after a few minutes of trampling beautiful wild flowers and dead grass, they found a strange golden creature digging a hole near a big rock. Its body seemed to be interlinked with exoskeleton chain links and had a huge, jockstrap shaped head, with large scales covering it's whole body. The young Elf shivered.

"We hunt Chain Scorpions," he said in a low voice.

"What? Don't they sting?" replied an alarmed Amaryll.

"Not if we get them first… wait," he looked at her strangely, "Where is your bow?"

"Um… ah…" she started, not sure whether to tell him she placed it in her bag.

"It'll be faster if you kill Turnbull," Saddreams stepped in once again, "Your attack power is much greater than hers."

"I suppose you're right EE," he slowly agreed, still looking at Amaryll suspiciously, "I forgot she's noob. Ok, you stay here and I will kill it."

_When are people going to stop calling me noob? _She watched as the Dark Knight turned three hundred and sixty degrees in the air, then slpit the monster in two halves. It made her feel sick in the stomach, and decided to face the other way each time he went in for the kill. Saddreams tried to cheer her up by pulling funny faces and imitating Turnbull when he wasn't looking, but after a while, it was beginning to get a little tiresome. Spiral after spiral curled around her as the DK sliced and diced what seemed to be hundreds of little golden Scorpions, until he took his helmet off and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"I'm bored," he said, after taking a huge breath, "I think it's time we head to Lorencia."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Saddreams sighed dampening his idea, "I don't think Amaryll is up to it just yet."

"I swear she has levelled at least eight times since we started. She's definitely ready."

Tegea told her Lorencia was a dark place, and Amaryll was extremely reluctant to leave her homeland.

"I'm not ready," she said out loud.

"Suit yourself. Goodluck levelling without me then," he said arrogantly and strode off.

The winged Elf approached the young Elf's side and whispered, "I think you should go with him. There aren't that many low levels around nowadays. At the moment he is your best chance at helping you. Just stick with him until we find someone else."

"But Tegea said-"

"If Tegea was here, he would tell you the exact same thing I've just said."

She was right. Turnbull may be a jerk, but she had to stick with him for the meantime. She couldn't stand the thought of slaying creatures by herself. It was something she could NEVER do. To her relief, her butterflies had completely dissolved… meaning she no longer felt anything for the Dark Knight. _No! There is no way I'm going to admit that I liked that man. NO. WAY._ Then something completely different swept across her mind…

"Saddreams, why did you leave me?"

The Energy Elf looked away sharply and paused, "I was ashamed of myself Amaryll… of how I acted… If I had known he was hacked… I would have acted differently… I just didn't know how to react after being such a bitch."

The young Elf didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I left you behind," she continued, "I won't do it again. Scout's honour."

"It's ok, I'm just glad you came back," Amaryll said happily, finally understanding her actions.

The two Elves travelled rapidly down the path to Lorencia. Amaryll could see from afar that the Plains of Noria were beginning to fade into darkness as they passed a crooked sign pointing in the direction of the Noria safe zone. Funnily enough, Turnbull was waiting for them next to the sign, with his arms folded… and a huge grin on his face.

"I knew you'd come."

"Yes, we need you oh so much," Saddreams replied sarcastically.

"Ready noob?" he asked with little concern and not really caring what her answer was.

"Uh… I think so…"

She watched as the DK walked into the darkness and disappeared. It wasn't until she looked down that she realised she was standing in the middle of a crossroad. This was her choice; to cross or not to cross. If she stayed here, she would have no help to level and would probably never summon the courage to explore the continent of MU. But if she crossed… the opportunities were endless. With one last look at her homeland, she took a deep breathe and stepped into the darkness, leaving everything she knew behind her, and ready and willing to accept what was waiting for her on the other side.


End file.
